First Impressions of the Wild Country Zephyros 2 Tent

by Christian

The Wild Country Zephyros 2 tent is based on the Terra Nova Laser, albeit a bit simpler in design and weighing a couple of hundred grams more.

The Zephyros 2 just sports one door, doesn’t have the improved ventilation system to raise the fly on either end and isn’t trimmed down to save weight with titanium nails, dyneema guys and the lightest silnylon materials.

Instead you get a great all-round tent with the benefits of this proven design at a considerably friendlier price-tag.

What I like:

reasonable weight of just over 1.7Kg without the stuff sack (exactly 1.8Kg with everything)

spacious porch for shoes, packs, wet gear, cooking

two way zip to create vent at top

inside mesh areas at front and back can be covered

the door of the inner can be unzipped almost entirely and stuffed in the side pocket (the door of the Laser Comp just zips to the floor)

no pole cover due to taped seems!

great price

Areas of improvement:

Now, don’t get me wrong, none of these little mods are necessary, but they are cheap and easy to implement and provide some additional value, at least to me. The stakes work, but man, they really are not of the highest quality.

I use a Laser Competition for solo trips and when you see both tents side by side, there is not much of a size difference! In fact the dimension of the fly are almost identical (compare the Zephyros 2 with the Laser Competition).
The inner of the Competition is quite a bit smaller in width, creating the huge trademark porch. The inner of Zephyros 2 is wide enough to fit two regular Therm-A-Rest mats side by side. But’s a snug fit for two, and the sides also slope inside somewhat. The height and length of the two are similar.

I am really fond of the Laser Competition and am looking forward to test the Zephyros 2 on the next outing with my partner. I believe Terra Nova has created a winner with the Zephyros series. There is great value for that price.

Below you’ll find a few pictures of the tent compared to the Laser Competition.

Chris, I think this offers very good value for money – OK with a weight penalty. I have had wild country tents in the past and they are well made. I like the ideal of no pole sleeve- I wonder when they are going to do that mod to the laser Comp? I totally agree that those mods you suggested should be done on the Zephyros, they are easy to do and will save some grams. Good post
Mark

Anonymous

Hey Mark,

it would be something if Terra Nova got rid of the pole sleave! Maybe, we’ll
know more after Friedrichshafen.
It’s really a bit of a nuisance to set up.

I haven’t put the original guy lines on the scale yet, but with some lighter
ones and lighter stakes.. You’re right, one might be able to shave off a few
more grams.

The Zephyros 1 is a real cracker for the price, too. Thanks for your
comment!

http://profiles.google.com/georgeseven39 Evan B

Hi Chris,
Thanks for this constructive review and all the pictures, as the TN website really does not really allow you to see the tent. Your reveiw pushed me to purchase this myself and what amazing service from Field and trek. I ordered the Zephyros 2 on Sunday morning and it arrived today, Monday at 12.30pm.

Got it up in the garden at the moment and I can’t wait to take it out soon. Perhaps go for my first wild camp somewhere.

Let us know how your first venture out goes.

Many thanks.

Anonymous

Hi Evan,

congrats to your Zephyros I hope you still got it at the discounted price!

At that price and just a bit more weight than the Zephyros 1, I think the 2 is the better choice, really. I hear that the Zephyros 1 doesn’t have the wee pocket to stuff the door of the inner, which is kinda neat and I am not sure if you can cover the mesh panels inside, either.

Anyway, glad the post was of some help. Thanks for taking the time to comment and have a great trip with the tent!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=524823390 Martin McDowell

Thinking of getting this myself. Of course the lighter Laser would be great but the price is a little hard to swallow. I am going to use it it for a motorcycle tour round the US in June so I hope it will serve me well. I kind of miss a designed door mat to prevent getting the dirt in the tent. Noticed this on my previous camping trips.

http://eBooklesegeraet.com/ Christian Schilling

Hey Martin, I’d say this is great choice for the price. If you want to have a small pack size but still have a tent that can take a beating by the weather. Regarding a floor, I am sure you could order one for the Laser and use it with this one, too. I think they have one that also covers the door area – which is great, I agree!
But how about the TarpTents assuming the weather is nice in June? They pack even smaller.

Guy

I just got this tent and I’m not feeling the love like I do for my Laser Comp 1. I’m sure that I’ll grow to like it but it just feels so much bulkier than my Comp. I hate giving up all that porch space and small pack size. Still, it’s a great tent for the price.

disqus_wPivTmOfT8

I have had this tent the terra nova voyager for just under a year now mostly took out out in fair weather I decided to camp on top of Pen-y-fan 11/04/15 the wind condition’s were moderate to strong at the time’s but with this being rated a 4 season tent I was confident it would withstand the weather being thrown at it , but boy was I wrong the arch pole over the door kept being blown back onto the tent and me inside all night despite being pitched correctly the result in the morning was a broken pole and where the red pole sit’s over the two blue horizontal poles it had rubbed holes in both pole sleeves and the stitching inside was tearing through the inner tent where the pole sleeves attach, now I cannot insert the poles through the sleeves without them coming through the holes . I contacted terra nova about this they were useless after many emails and pictures of the damage were sent I had to send it off to them, 2 weeks for them to look at it and after they make a dissension another 2-3 weeks for them to repair it at my expense when it is clearly a design fault as there is no reinforcement protection where the poles overlap on the front of the tent but there is protection on the rear. Truly disappointed in there poor customer service I expected more form a British company I have lost faith in there product’s and will buy a Hilleberg for a better experience .